Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

The rent is still due in Ohio despite COVID-19 crisis

A sign calling for the suspension of rent during the COVID-19 outbreak is pictured in downtown Seattle, Washington, March 26, 2020.(Photo: STEPHEN BRASHEAR, EPA-EFE)

It's April Fools' Day, but some landlords aren't joking about rents that are due today in Ohio despite widespread COVID-19-related job losses that have wreaked havoc on many renters' ability to pay.

"There's this notion out there among some of our members that they're going to be hard-nosed about it,'' said Charles Tassell, director of governmental affairs for the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Apartment Association.

But landlords who demand the rent at a time when many renters simply don't have the money would only exacerbate the problem, said Tassell, whose association represents the owners of more than 100,000 rental units in the local area.

Instead, Tassell said his group has asked its members to reach out to residents who can provide evidence that they're in financial distress because of the COVID-19 crisis.

In most cases, landlords have been willing to work out individual plans with their tenants to provide some form of temporary rent relief that will allow renters to keep roofs over their heads and landlords to remain solvent.

"We're all in this together,'' Tassell said. "We're trying to help. Our members and our association have been encouraging workouts.''

Still, many tenants will have to pay rent today for the first time since non-essential businesses were ordered to shut down and forced to lay off workers to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 respiratory illness.

Some states, including Kentucky and Indiana, have issued temporary moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures to help protect renters.

[ All of The Enquirer's coverage of coronavirus is being provided for free to our readers. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to The Enquirer at cincinnati.com/subscribe. ]

And some states are even suspending rents or using taxpayer dollars to help people pay their rent.

Not in Ohio, where Gov. Mike DeWine has yet to provide emergency relief for residential renters despite growing calls to do so.

Rent is due tomorrow for many renters. @GovMikeDeWine, what are you going to do for all those who no longer have a paycheck? We need a rent suspension in Ohio — now. #RentZero#CancelRent

That does nothing for residential tenants who continue to call for rent freezes and rent strikes on social media outlets like #RentZero and #RentRelief.

But those groups aren't taking into account the potential economic ramifications if renters simply stop paying the rent, Tassell said.

"If suddenly large parts of society don't pay their rent, the next thing that happens is large numbers of property owners can't pay their mortgages,'' he said. "It escalates from there to mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures and evictions. That's not good for anybody.''

So far, apartment association members are reporting that only about 5% to 10% of their tenants have requested some form of rent relief, according to Tassell. But he expects that number to grow exponentially the longer the COVID-19 crisis continues.

In the meantime, the federal government has taken steps to protect some renters.

On March 18, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to suspend evictions and foreclosures through April for tenants who are facing financial hardship due to the current crisis.

But the order only applies to renters living in federally subsidized housing or properties with federally backed mortgage loans.